One Last Life
by Tipear
Summary: The Doctor has grown tired and weary of the universe. Now he has reached his last regeneration, which holds a surprise for him. - Future!Doctor. A Doctor/Donna-fix it. Not quite sure about the category. Kinda happy ending, but still sad.


**This is a solution for Doctor/Donna that is still available in the series! ;D I won't give up hope.^^ Well, I'm not entirely happy with it, but I had to get it off my chest and I don't know what I could improve. Got any ideas?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did, this would be the ending of the series. No, actually, it wouldn't, because JE would have ended differently.**

One Last Life

With the centuries, the Doctor had become weary of the universe.

He had seen everything, had lived through so much. He had visited and saved countless planets for even less countable times. He had watched civilizations grow into existence and worlds burn down and fall apart. He had seen more war than anyone could comprehend and he had brought peace not remotely often enough, and so very often at great costs. Costs too enormous.

He had loved, he had hated, he had mourned. Though he had never forgotten. He had had many companions and been forced to watch every single one of them leave or die.

He had lived so many lives. Too many. He was so tired of living now and it was probably for the best that he had reached his last regeneration.

The process had just ended but he wasn't ready yet. He did not know who he was or who he would be. All he knew, was, that he would live only one more time and he was very thankful for that.

He had reached his limits, as had his old girl.

The TARDIS was dying. She had had a brilliant, magnificent life, but all lives ended some time. Everybody died sooner or later. As the Doctor had learned the hard way, for him it was later, while for the ones he loved it seemed always to be sooner.

A lot of people he had long since forgotten, had willed himself to forget them, unable to live with the pain and guilt. Yet some of his friends came always back to his mind, hurting the most. But he could not bear to forget the most brilliant, the most wonderful people he had ever met. Because he was alone, always alone, so lonely, he simply needed the memories of his long lost friends, those people he held dear, those important to him.

And, of course, mostly her. The most important woman of the universe. The most important woman of _his_ universe. After many more decades, even centuries, as well as countless companions, he had not once forgotten brilliant, brilliant Donna Noble. The fiery ginger he had always loved more than all the others. Many times he had had to stop himself from visiting her, checking on her safety. Just watching her from the shadows.

The Doctor shook his head to shoo away those all too familiar thoughts. He needed a distraction before he would do something in his post-regenerative status he would regret later on. He should get new clothes. His old ones were practically lumps now.

Still thinking of Donna, he went to his room. Those beautiful ginger locks. He had always wanted to be ginger. A wish that had never been fulfilled. Well, maybe it was now. He had to check his new face in a mirror… So, the first thing he did, was to go to his bathroom and to look into the mirror.

What he saw, let him get huge eyes. It could not be. He blinked a couple of times, then looked again. The image he saw had not changed. A wide smile spread over his face and he felt truly alive again. He still was not ginger, but his new face was better. Much better. He knew exactly what to do. He knew he exactly, who he was meant to be in his last life.

In his room, he chose the most ordinary, twenty-first century clothes one could imagine. Blue jeans and a plain red shirt. Never he would have guessed that he out of all people would dress that unspectacularly by his own free will. But it was enough. In fact, it was perfect for his last self.

With a new energy in his movements, he went back to the console room. He programmed the good old girl for one last time. She would like the place he had chosen for her – literally – last few days. There weren't many left. The Doctor could hear it in her sounds. She was tired, too.

But after she had landed, he had to require one more time her help. For the last time, his TARDIS would help her thief. She had always tried to make him happy. He patted her and smiled sadly: "Thank you for everything, dear. My gorgeous, wondrous police box who is bigger on the inside. Thank you for everything. Live well and die happy." Gently he placed a little kiss on her surface. She hummed a loving, but tired goodbye for her great love, her thief and pilot, and then the Doctor activated the Chameleon Arch.

The TARDIS knew what to do. She gave her thief a last present to make him happy once more. He would live a wonderful life. Ironic, that it was the life of the one man he had envied the most. But now he was him. He was lucky. Even his screams were not as painful as the last time for he already knew who he would become.

Then, the process was done. The human he now was held a golden ring in his hand, a bio-damper that looked like a wedding ring, containing his true essence forever because there was no way to open it. He would trust only one person to carry it around. He left the TARDIS, still in a haze and not really taking notice of his surroundings. The blue wooden doors closed behind him and the TAARDIS began to shut down. Soon she would be no more, as her thief was no more. Not truly, after all.

A man turned around and wondered since when a blue police box was standing in the park and what he was doing there. In the autumn, with the colored leaves, it was one of the most beautiful places he knew. Nevertheless, he had a life to run and was supposed to go to that job interview he had. Furthermore, he had the feeling that soon he would meet someone who would be very important in his life.

So, he let that funny old box behind and turned towards the street to go and live his life. Somehow, he was happy that it would be only one life. And maybe one with the perfect woman.

A few weeks later, he noticed a new co-worker at the office, a stunning ginger. With an intrigued smile he went to her and extended his hand.

"Hello, I'm the new temp", she greeted, "Donna Noble."

"Very nice to meet you, Donna Noble. My name is Shaun. Shaun Temple."

Five months later he was the happiest man in the world, when he slipped a ring on Donna's finger. It was an old family heirloom and he wanted no one more than Donna to wear it. After all, she was his family now.

When they kissed to seal the wedding vows, he thought, that was what it felt like walking amongst the stars, although he wondered for a moment why he remembered the taste of ginger beer and walnuts for their first kiss.

But he shooed away those ridiculous thoughts and concentrated on the beautiful, brilliant woman at his side. Now she was his wife and he was the happiest man in the world. No, in the universe. He even laughed about one very silly wedding present, a lottery ticket. He had Donna and that was worth more than ten jackpots, even if the ticket would have the right numbers.

Sometimes Shaun Temple-Noble had wondered what it would be like to live more than once. But, with a look to his stunning Donna, he decided that one life would be enough. Although with Donna, he wouldn't have minded if it had been more than one life.

**Yeah, this is my solution for the Doctor and Donna. Although it's something like a happy ending, I feel like incredibly sad, now. Not at last because of what I did to the TARDIS. I'm so sorry, Sexy. . What do you guys think? Please leave some reviews.**


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